A/N: The Battle of New York begins.
-x-X-x-
Tony knew he wasn't a hero. Maybe in the other timeline he'd played at the role. Iron Man had gone out and saved lives, often without considering the bigger picture. That was pretty much the definition of a hero, really.
"JARVIS, start evacuating the city. Get President Ellis to send down the order if you have to. I want as many people to get out of New York as possible."
"Yes Sir."
The first time around, the Battle of New York had no military involvement. It probably wouldn't have much involvement this time either because Tony couldn't exactly explain why he knew there was going to be an alien invasion here. Even after Loki dropped in, he'd had to keep things close to his chest.
That's why, just like last time, Rhodey was halfway across the world fighting the Ten Rings on orders from the US Military. Could Tony have found a way to engineer Rhodey's participation in the upcoming battle? Sure, but then he'd be risking Rhodey's life by changing too many variables. This way, he knew Rhodey was dealing with something he'd dealt with just fine last time.
Especially since this time around, War Machine was upgraded out the ass even if nobody, not even it's pilot, actually knew it. There were a dozen contingencies that would activate in the case that Rhodey got into serious trouble, and even if he had yet to augment Rhodey's suit with Vibranium, Tony knew for a fact that the man would be alright, no matter what they threw at him.
"Get the Iron Legion inserted into the command structure for the first responders as well. Don't need any police, firefighters, or paramedics not following the STRIKE Team's orders once everything kicks off."
"Consider it done, Sir."
This was why Tony was no hero. He knew that Loki was going to summon the Chitauri to Earth. He'd known for years that Loki would wind up trying to open a portal in New York City using his tower's arc reactor. He could have changed things. He could have stopped her at any time before this point really. He'd let this happen.
People were going to die. Even with Tony and JARVIS working to start the evacuation that should have happened last time around, innocent lives would be lost. Even with Tony planning to keep the invasion small and contained this time around, 'sanitized' if you will… there was no world in which this would truly be sanitized. Shit was going to be messy. Lives were going to be lost.
… But it had to be done. Because the world needed to know what it was dealing with. And Pierce and the WSC needed to be tricked into making their greatest mistake yet. With this, Tony's version of Project Insight would receive all of the funding it needed. A half a dozen Helicarriers of his design built on the World Security Council's dime. HYDRA, unaware that they were being lured into a prison of their own making until the last possible second.
"Loki where she's supposed to be? Hanging out in my penthouse?"
"Yes Sir. Both her and her illusionary duplicate."
The smugness in JARVIS' voice is unmistakable. Tony grins as his baby boy shares his vision with him. It's strange, it's not like it usually is when Tony connects to cameras with Technopathy. Instead he feels like he's actually seeing what JARVIS sees, all of it tinged in orange. There, through a camera in the top floor of his tower, Tony sees one copy of Loki pacing back and forth across the floor. In a corner of the room however, the real Loki lurks in wait for him, Scepter in her hands.
"Funny. She didn't try that when she was a man."
"From what you've told me Sir, last time around, the first Loki did not have reason to think much of you. He considered you a weakling who he didn't have to bring his full might against. This Loki on the other hand… well, she's been made a fool of more than once by your hands."
Tony hums and nods. It was a fair point.
"Barnes and Rogers?"
"Unaware, Sir. I have taken the liberty of surreptitiously soundproofing their floor. James Barnes is taking a nap. Steve Rogers is listening to a podcast."
He tries not to grin at that. He fails.
"Coming in for a landing, J."
"On standby, Sir."
No… Tony Stark was no hero. And he was certainly no Avenger. He'd made his peace with that though a long time ago, before he even traveled back in time… or slightly diagonally, whichever it was. Tony had seen what the world liked when heroes and Avengers were allowed to run amok, impressing their idealistic expectations of perfection and what they saw as morally right upon the rest of the world. They truly believed if they just led by 'heroic example', that everyone else would just fall in line and agree with them.
It hadn't worked out. In the end, heroes had failed the world. The Avengers had failed the world. Iron Man had failed the world. But Tony Stark… Tony Stark would not fail this world.
Landing on the balcony outside of the top floor of his Tower, Tony steps out of his current suit. Designed to look like an extra Iron Legion Armor, it actually represents a large portion of his Vibranium Nanites. He still has enough to produce another suit at a moment's notice if necessary… but it won't be.
He makes eye contact with the fake Loki through the windows of his penthouse, tilting his head to the side and grinning at her cockily as she narrows her eyes and sneers at him. Sauntering in off of the balcony, Tony makes for the bar, well aware of the real Loki lying in wait, just hoping for an opportunity to cut him down to size.
"Drink?"
"You can't win, Stark."
Tony smirks at that.
"Funny, I thought that was my line. Who's confronting who here, Loki?"
Loki's illusion sneers at him… something Tony notes through 'JARVIS-vision' is mirrored on the real Loki's face from her hiding spot.
"You have danced to my tune for the past two days, Stark. Everything that has happened so far has been according to my whims. You and your foolish Midgard are puppets, dancing to my strings. Regardless of what you are, whether you are this planet's hidden monarch like my foolish brother thinks or whether you're just another mortal upstart… it matters little. Because after today, I shall rule this world!"
Hidden monarch? Right, Thor was still throwing that theory around and it wasn't like Tony had done much to dissuade the Asgardian Prince of it either. Tony has to resist the urge to facepalm, even as he shoots Loki a grin.
"Yeah? And if you're my puppet master, who's yours, Silvertongue?"
Loki bristles, illusion and real one alike.
"I am the Goddess of Mischief! I have no master!"
Tony raises an eyebrow at that.
"Tell me, how are you going to conquer Midgard exactly?"
"I have an army?"
"And who gave you that army, O' Goddess of Mischief. No wait, let me guess… fella by the name of Thanos, maybe? Big purple thumb of a man?"
For the first time, Loki looks shocked. She freezes in place, her eyes, still strikingly blue, going wide in response to his words.
"H-How… how do you know that name?"
Letting his smile turn soft and quiet, Tony downs the drink he's prepared and walks over to Loki's illusion, putting himself within striking distance without a care in the world.
"You said it yourself. If I'm the ruler of this world, it behooves me to know who my enemies are, does it not?"
Stepping right up to Loki's facsimile, Tony is the one who sneers now.
"Did you think I didn't know you were coming, Loki? Did you think I didn't see you from a mile away? Dancing to your tune? Don't make me laugh. You've been following MY playbook for years now."
As expected, Tony's words finally tip Loki over the edge. Her illusion makes a show of smiling broadly, even as the real Loki finally rises from her hiding place and starts to move into position behind him.
"You have secrets, Stark. Many, many secrets. I will enjoy prying them from you once you worship me as your rightful Queen."
The illusion lashes out, the Scepter's tip aiming for his chest, ostensibly to take control. Obviously, Loki expects him to block or deflect or something, because the real Loki lashes out at the same time from behind, aiming to take him in the back instead.
Without missing a beat, Tony whips around faster than the human eye would be able to follow. His hand comes up and a Vibranium Nanotech Gauntlet forms around his arm in an instant, reaching up and grabbing hold of the Scepter right at the base of its bladed head. Between the Vibranium and Tony's own strength, he stops Loki dead in her tracks, the tip of her weapon wavering mere centimeters from his chest.
Not that Loki even tries to push forward. Her eyes widen and her jaw goes slack as she realizes she's been had.
"How?"
Tony grins as he overwhelms her strength with his own, pushing the Scepter back and back as he leans forward until he's right up close to her.
"I see you, Loki."
She flinches and Tony takes advantage of the lapse to slam his forehead into her face, headbutting her hard enough that he feels a crunch. The Trickster Goddess cries out, falling back from him. To her credit, she immediately reacts, a blast from the scepter striking him in the chest and tossing him back a few feet.
Tony doesn't lose his footing though, even as Loki holds her broken nose and rises to her feet. Suddenly there's another… and then another… until he's staring at an array of twelve Loki, all holding their noses and the Scepter, glaring at him angrily with blue eyes. Tony's jaw sets as he looks at them all.
But in the end, all he has to do is look through JARVIS' eyes and he sees the real Loki. Without missing a beat, Tony steps back… and the suit he'd left on the balcony steps up behind him, closing around him as he lets the nanites forming up his gauntlet move back into the containment unit. Tilting his armored head to the side, Tony makes a show of sweeping through the illusions Loki has created.
"I still see you, Loki. The real you. I wonder… has anyone else? Just how long have you been hiding from everyone?"
The dozen copies of Loki all snarl at him, speaking in unison.
"SHUT UP!"
As one, they lance forward. And Tony… well, he did warn her, didn't he? Clearly she thought it was just a fluke. Or maybe the Scepter is clouding her judgment. Either way, Tony steps up and with unerring precision, catches the real Scepter in his gauntlet once more, watching as the real Loki's eyes go wide yet again.
This time, he forces the Scepter's tip up into the air just before she fires off another blast of energy from the stone hidden within. Then, his free hand closes around Loki's throat.
Tony wishes he could say he does it with contemptuous ease, but even with Upgraded ES3 flowing through his veins, even with Vibranium Nanites covering his body and increasing his strength… it's a struggle, pulling the Scepter from Loki's grasp. He has to practically throttle the alien woman, his hand closing around her throat until she chokes and asphyxiates while he yanks the Scepter from her grasp with all his might.
Ripping it free of her desperately clutching hands, Tony holds the thing at his side while he walks a struggling, scrabbling Loki towards the nearest wall.
"I-Impossible… h-how can… you be… s-so strong?"
As she gasps out the words through his grasp, Tony just chuckles.
"That is the question, isn't it?"
Then, he slams her back into the concrete wall of the penthouse. Loki's head makes a rather satisfying thunk against the wall, her eyes rolling around in her skull for a moment… but when they focus on him again, they're still so damn blue. So Tony does it again. And again. And again.
SLAM!
"Stark-!"
SLAM!
"-Stop!"
SLAM!
"Agh!"
He doesn't stop. He doesn't let up. Not even when Loki manages to pull a knife from somewhere and stab it at his kidneys again. The attempt fails on account of the reflective nature of Vibranium, causing her blade to bounce right off of his armor as he continues to strike her head against the wall. The concrete literally craters, but eventually… they see some results.
The blue in Loki's eyes is clearing up at long last. Whether that's because of the repeated hits to the head or the fact that Tony has pulled the Scepter out of her clutches… does it really matter? Frankly, it could very well be both.
Peering at her, Tony hums.
"Loki… you with me?"
A pitiful whine leaves the battered alien's lips as her head rolls back and forth. He might have had to severely concuss her to break her free of whatever control she was under, but even so, it would be worth it if she was her own woman again. Lifting Loki a little higher, so she's forced to make eye contact with his mask even as her head lolls, Tony meets her bright green eyes.
"How much of this was you and how much was Thanos, huh? How far did the puppet master have his hand up your ass, Would-Be Queen of Midgard?"
The insults and crass terminology definitely gets Loki to focus on him faster than she otherwise would have. She even manages a weak scowl as she glares down at his helmeted visage.
"Hate you… Stark. Hate you… so much."
Tony grins wickedly.
"I'd expect nothing less, Loki dear."
Before either of them can say anything else, however, the entire floor suddenly shakes as the Tower itself rocks all the way down to its foundations. Looking up at the ceiling, Tony doesn't even need to be able to use Technopathy to see through the cameras on the roof to know what's just happened. Erik Selvig has done his true master's bidding, working without rest and without pause, to use the Tesseract and create a stabilized portal so that the Chitauri could pour out onto the Earth.
If Tony needed a way of knowing whether Loki had actually been broken free of the Scepter's control or not, it would be this moment as her green eyes glance up at the ceiling as well, wide and fearful. Then, they dart down to the scepter in his hands.
"The Scepter. You can use it to breach the containment field around the Tesseract and close the portal!"
Tony blinks. He… had not expected Loki to just blurt out the solution like that, even with her head finally on straight. Still, the fear in her voice makes it obvious she's not doing it for his sake or for the sake of Midgard. Rather, she's terrified of Thanos and having to face him again.
Grinning, Tony pulls his hand back from Loki's neck, allowing the Goddess of Mischief to drop a foot down to the floor. Of course, the moment she does, the floor comes alive underneath her, the Tower's incredibly advanced security systems wrapping around her feet, then legs, then the rest of her body. Loki's eyes widen as she's subsequently gagged and completely restrained, specifically her fingers kept spread apart and her mouth kept occupied. She needs to be able to speak or move her hands to cast her magic, as far as Tony is aware.
"Good to know, Loki. But closing the portal this early… wouldn't exactly fit my plans."
Loki's eyes narrow at that, but she can't exactly do anything to stop Tony as he reaches out and pats her head.
"Looks like I have an army to defeat and a city to save."
"Mmph!"
"Shh. Sit tight now."
-x-X-x-
A/N: Loki: "oh cool I'm not mind controlled anymore! oh god wait, the Chitauri are coming, close the portal!"
Tony: "yeeeeeah, can't do that just yet. sorry, not sorry."
Next time, we wrap up the battle Tony's way.
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